Sydney Bryan initially couldn’t see herself finding a home with the Lady Owls five years ago, after transferring from Mountain View-Birch Tree to Spokane prior to her seventh-grade year.
“I definitely wanted to move back at first,” Bryan said. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is different.’”
Bryan has stayed at Spokane and halfway through her senior year has established herself among the Lady Owls’ best all-time all-around athletes.
Bryan was honored at Spokane’s home game Thursday and awarded a plaque in recognition of her 1,000th career point. She reached 1,000 in a win against Hurley at the Walnut Grove Tournament last week.
Bryan joins former teammate Raylen Wallace and 2020 Spokane grad Paige Tate as the newest members of the Lady Owls’ 1,000-point club.
This past fall, Bryan was named to the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association’s Class 2 All-State Team as a setter
Last spring, Bryan was sixth in the 300 hurdles and 12th in the 100 hurdles at the Class 2 State Track Meet.
“Track and volleyball, I love,” Bryan said. “Basketball is not my favorite sport. It’s something that I'm there for the team.”
Basketball may take a back seat to volleyball and track for Bryan, but she was still thrilled to get to 1,000 points.
“I've been pushing for it since my freshman year, even though my freshman year I didn't score a lot,” she said. ‘I wasn't much of a scorer my freshman and sophomore years. It wasn't until my junior year (while netting 430 points) that I started scoring. I thought maybe I would get close, but didn't think I would get it.”
Even with her impressive resume, Bryan has been somewhat of an under-the-radar type.
“I feel like my name is not out there too much,” she said. “(Spokane is) very small.”
Bryan is a holdover of sorts. Several members of her class who play sports transferred over the years. Also she is one of just two varsity volleyball players who are playing basketball this winter, after several girls who previously played both sports chose not to shoot hoops this season.
Bryan pondered life at another school, but feels she made the right choice by not going elsewhere.
“I did (think about transferring) my freshman and sophomore years,” she said. “But I like a small school and I like my friends at Spokane. I'm glad I stayed. I really like it here now.”
